Les lacs et les fjords du nord de l’Île d’Ellesmere, au Nunavut, renferment des écosystèmes uniques qui dépendent de la glace pour le maintien de leur structure. Certains de ces « cryo-écosystèmes » sont stratifiés en permanence, formés d’une couche d’eau douce flottant sur une couche d’eau de mer. Ces stratifications sont entre autres dues à la limitation du brassage par le vent en raison de la présence d’un couvert de glace permanent. Les travaux présentés ici ont comme objectif principal d’évaluer la diversité limnologique et biologique des lacs côtiers du nord de l’Île d’Ellesmere afin de mieux comprendre leur réponse aux changements environnementaux et climatiques à deux échelles temporelles : leurs variations à long terme à l’échelle de l’Holocène et leur réponse récente au climat dans le cours des dernières décennies. D’abord, les différents environnements sont présentés comme faisant partie d’une chronoséquence limnologique d’évolution du paysage à l’échelle de l’Holocène, à partir d’un fjord stratifié jusqu’à un lac d’eau douce en passant par un lac méromictique stratifié en permanence. Les facteurs de changements des environnements sont ensuite explorés en observant leur réponse aux changements climatiques récents. Puis, une étude de l’écologie microbienne de ces lacs et de ces fjords est présentée, insistant sur la dominance des picocyanobactéries dans leurs eaux de surface, en contraste avec les eaux de l’Océan Arctique, d’où sont issus ces milieux aquatiques. Une analyse moléculaire de la diversité génétique des cyanobactéries a été également effectuée et celle-ci met en valeur les grandes tolérances des cyanobactéries. Enfin, les communautés de zooplancton présentes dans ces environnements sont étudiées, afin d’élargir le portrait de ces environnements, et d’établir un point de base pour les études futures des transformations causées par les changements climatiques. Cette région du globe est très sensible aux changements climatiques, et les propriétés de ces écosystèmes tels que décrits ici sont un point de départ pour l’évaluation des changements futurs. / The lakes and fjords of northern Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, harbor unique ice-dependant ecosystems. Some of these “cryo-ecosystems” are permanently stratified, with a freshwater layer overlying sea water. This extreme stratification is due in part to the limitation of wind-derived mixing because of the presence of a perennial ice-cover. The main objective of the work presented here was to evaluate the limnological and biological diversity of coastal lakes of northern Ellesmere Island in order to better understand their response to environmental change at two timescales: their long term variations over the Holocene and their recent responses to climate over the last few decades. The environments were shown to form a limnological chronosequence that reflected landscape evolution at the Holocene timescale, from stratified fjords to freshwater lakes, via phases in which the water bodies were stratified, meromictic lakes with different degrees of wind-induced mixing depending on the duration of ice cover, from perennial to seasonally open water conditions under warmer climates. Each of these phases is represented today in northern Nunavut. The sensitivity of these stratified ecosystems to environmental change at shorter timescales was then explored, by observing the limnological impacts of current climate change in the Ellesmere Island region. As a first step towards addressing the question of biodiversity and microbial community structure in these ecosystems, a molecular ecology analysis of the lake and fjord biota was made, and underscored the dominance of picocyanobacteria in their surface waters, in contrast with the low abundance of these microbes in the Arctic Ocean, from which those aquatic environments originate. The DNA analysis of the picocyanobacteria implied broad tolerances among these organisms, with the same genetic groups found in a great variety of environments, both on a local and a planetary scale. Finally, a study was undertaken of the zooplankton communities in a lake and fjord of northern Ellesmere Island to develop a broader portrait of these unique ecosystems, and to establish a baseline for future studies of the ongoing impacts of climate changes. This region of the globe is highly sensitive to climate change, and the properties of these ecosystems as discovered and described here are likely to undergo great transformations in the years to come.

We explored the combination of metagenomic library and DNA microarray technologies into a single platform as a novel way to rapidly screen metagenomic libraries for genetic targets. In the "metagenomic microarray" system, metagenomic library clone DNA is printed on a microarray surface, and clones of interest are detected by hybridization to single-gene probes. This study represents the initial steps in the development of this technology. We constructed two 5,000-clone large-insert metagenomic libraries from two diesel-contaminated Arctic soil samples. We developed and optimized an automated fosmid purification protocol to rapidly-extract clone DNA in a high-throughput 96-well format. We then created a series of small prototype arrays to optimize various parameters of microarray printing and hybridization, to identify and resolve technical challenges, and to provide proof-of-principle of this novel application. Our results suggest that this method shows promise, but more experimentation must be done to establish the feasibility of this approach.

No description available.

Les échanges d'énergie et de nutriments entre écosystèmes sont des processus fondamentaux dans la dynamique et la stabilité des réseaux trophiques, mais leurs rôles demeurent peu connus. Dans ce contexte, nous avons tenté d'évaluer l'impact d'une source de nutriments allochtones d'origine anthropique sur une population de prédateurs aviaires. Notre aire d'étude est située à Alert (83° N, 62° W), île d'Ellesmere, où le rejet des eaux usées de la station militaire fournit une nourriture relativement stable pour le labbe à longue queue (Stercorarius longicaudus). Nous avons utilisé la technique d'analyse des isotopes stables ([delta]¹³C et [delta]¹⁵N) pour caractériser le régime alimentaire de cette population et évaluer la contribution de cette source de nourriture anthropique. Nous avons aussi mesuré certains paramètres reproducteurs afin d'évaluer l'impact de cette source de nourriture anthropique sur ceux-ci. Nous avons découvert que la nourriture acquise au rejet des eaux usées représente une part significative du régime alimentaire des labbes et que sa contribution est plus élevée lors d'une année de faible abondance en lemming comparativement à une année de forte abondance pour les individus reproducteurs. Également, la densité de nids de labbes lors d'une année de faible abondance en lemmings à Alert était plus élevée qu'à d'autres sites comparables sans source de nourriture d'origine humaine. Ces résultats suggèrent que l'utilisation d'une ressource allochtone d'origine anthropique représente un subside qui soutient la population de labbes à ce site. Un objectif secondaire était d'estimer la survie apparente du labbe à longue queue et d'examiner l'effet des variations annuelles des lemmings sur le taux de survie. Les analyses ont été basées sur 336 individus adultes marqués avec des bagues de métal et de couleurs pendant 11 ans. L'analyse a confirmé la présence de deux groupes dans notre population à l'étude, soit des oiseaux locaux et des individus de passage représentant 18 % de la population. Nous avons estimé le taux de survie apparente (corrigé pour la perte de marqueurs auxiliaires) des oiseaux locaux à 0.91 (± 0.04 SE), ce qui est comparable à des estimés similaires obtenus pour d'autres espèces d'oiseaux marins. Nous avons détecté une tendance pour une diminution du taux de survie apparente des oiseaux nouvellement marqués (première classe d'âge) lors des années d'abondance de lemmings. Nous suggérons que cet effet puisse être une conséquence d'une augmentation de l'émigration permanente en raison de la capture d'un plus grand nombre d'oiseaux de passage attirés par la forte abondance en lemming lors de ces années.

This study presents a comprehensive overview of the current state of the Milne Ice Shelf and how it has changed over the last 59 years. The 205 ±1 km2 ice shelf experienced a 28% (82 ±0.8 km2) reduction in area between 1950 – 2009, and a 20% (2.5 ±0.9km3 water equivalent (w.e.)) reduction in volume between 1981 – 2008/2009, suggesting a long-term state of negative mass balance. Comparison of mean annual specific mass balances (up to -0.34 m w.e. yr-1) with surface mass balance measurements for the nearby Ward Hunt Ice Shelf suggest that basal melt is a key contributor to total ice shelf thinning. The development and expansion of new and existing surface cracks, as well as ice-marginal and epishelf lake development, indicate significant ice shelf weakening. Over the next few decades it is likely that the Milne Ice Shelf will continue to deteriorate.

This study presents the first comprehensive assessment of the Petersen Ice Shelf and the Petersen Bay epishelf lake, and examines their current characteristics and changes to their structure between 1959 and 2012. The surface of the Petersen Ice Shelf is characterized by a rolling topography of ridges and troughs, which is balanced by a rolling basal topography, with thicker ice under the surface ridges and thinner ice under the surface troughs. Based on thickness measurements collected in 2011 and area measurements from August 2012, the Petersen Ice Shelf has a surface area of 19.32 km2 and a mean thickness of 29 m, with the greatest thicknesses (>100 m) occurring at the fronts of tributary glaciers feeding into the ice shelf. The tributary glaciers along the northern coast of Petersen Bay contributed an estimated area-averaged 7.89 to 13.55 cm yr-1 of ice to the ice shelf between 2011 and 2012. This input is counteracted by a mean surface ablation of 1.30 m yr-1 between 2011 and 2012, suggesting strongly negative current mass balance conditions on the ice shelf. The Petersen Ice Shelf remained relatively stable until 2005 when the first break-up in recent history occurred, removing >8 km2 of ice shelf surface area. This break-up led to the drainage of the epishelf lake once the ice shelf separated from the southern coast, providing a conduit through which the freshwater from the lake escaped. More break-ups occurred in summers 2008, 2011 and 2012, which resulted in a >31.2 km2 loss in surface area (~63% of June 2005 area). While ephemeral regions of freshwater have occurred along the southern coast of Petersen Bay since 2005 (with areas ranging from 0.32-0.53 km2), open water events and a channel along the southern coast have prevented the epishelf lake from reforming. Based on these past and present observations it is unlikely that Petersen Ice Shelf will continue to persist long into the future.

This study presents a comprehensive overview of the current state of the Milne Ice Shelf and how it has changed over the last 59 years. The 205 ±1 km2 ice shelf experienced a 28% (82 ±0.8 km2) reduction in area between 1950 – 2009, and a 20% (2.5 ±0.9km3 water equivalent (w.e.)) reduction in volume between 1981 – 2008/2009, suggesting a long-term state of negative mass balance. Comparison of mean annual specific mass balances (up to -0.34 m w.e. yr-1) with surface mass balance measurements for the nearby Ward Hunt Ice Shelf suggest that basal melt is a key contributor to total ice shelf thinning. The development and expansion of new and existing surface cracks, as well as ice-marginal and epishelf lake development, indicate significant ice shelf weakening. Over the next few decades it is likely that the Milne Ice Shelf will continue to deteriorate.

Issues affecting water quality are seen as one of the most important and pressing global problems of our era. In New Zealand, water bodies with the poorest water quality and ecological condition tend to be surrounded by pastoral land use. Lake Ellesmere/Te Waihora in Canterbury, New Zealand, is a typical example of the issues that nutrient and sediment run-off from pastoral land can create. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between sediment concentrations, phosphate concentrations, ecological state and the degree of riparian restoration on drains that flowed into Lake Ellesmere/Te Waihora, and to calculate the load of phosphorus and sediment delivered by each of the drains to Te Waihora over the year, comparing this to the loads carried by larger, natural streams and rivers. Little research has been done on these small artificial tributaries of the Lake Ellesmere/Te Waihora catchment. Data collection was carried out on 10 drains with variable degrees of riparian planting, monthly in summer and autumn, and fortnightly in winter and spring, due to higher variability in drain flows during this time. Sites 1, 2 had low dissolved oxygen (DO) and high total phosphorus (TP), lack of flow and extremely high conductivity, and (with) Site 5, higher suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentrations. All these factors are consistent with the lack of ecology occurring in these drains. All drains failed to meet the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) guidelines for TP concentrations. All water chemistry parameters showed significant differences between seasons except conductivity. Mean water temperatures and pH were higher in summer and lower in winter, while mean DO levels were higher in winter (and spring) and lower in summer (and autumn). Macroinvertebrate analyses indicated moderate to severe pollution in all the drains, despite the amount of riparian planting present and the presence of macroinvertebrate community structure was related mainly to substrate size. The degree and type of riparian planting present on the drains studied did not appear to affect TP, SPM, macroinvertebrates or general water quality. This is likely to be due to the fact that little of the riparian planting had been specifically planted for restoration purposes. The highest loads of TP and SPM occurred in winter and spring, and in the larger (wider and deeper) drains. As flow increased in the drain, so did the load of phosphorus and sediment carried. Comparison with Environment Canterbury monitoring data for the river tributaries of the lake indicated that more TP and SPM is carried to the lake by natural rivers and streams, than by the drains, but the latter do make a significant contribution. The percentage of TP that is in dissolved form was higher than had previously been assumed, in both the drains and the larger, natural rivers and streams. It is recommended that future restoration work aim to reduce the amount of phosphorus and sediment entering the larger drains in winter and spring. More adequate riparian planting needs to occur on these drains, and it needs to be managed in a way that a reduction in dissolved phosphorus levels is also achieved.

The Lower Devonian carbonate-clastic sequence of southwest Ellesmere Island accumulated in the Franklinian Basin at approximately 15(DEGREES)N latitude. A variety of depositional settings are represented, ranging from tidal flat to basinal environments. These environments can be recognized in Lower Devonian rocks across the Arctic Islands. / Progradation of the carbonate sequence of southwest Ellesmere Island occurred in the Early Devonian, but was periodically interrupted in the Zlichovian/Dalejan by transgressive events. Upward movement in the newly named Inglefield Uplift occurred throughout the Devonian, and shed clastic sediments westward that, in Middle to Late Devonian time, finally overwhelmed the marine carbonates and resulted in fluvial deposition on southern Ellesmere Island. / Certain formations in the Lower Devonian sequence are profusely fossiliferous, in particular the Blue Fiord Formation, which contains an abundant fauna including numerous species of coral and brachiopods. Both of these groups belong to the Old World Biogeographic Realm, and indicate a Zlichovian age for the lower Blue Fiord Formation of southern Ellesmere Island.

This study presents a comprehensive overview of the current state of the Milne Ice Shelf and how it has changed over the last 59 years. The 205 ±1 km2 ice shelf experienced a 28% (82 ±0.8 km2) reduction in area between 1950 – 2009, and a 20% (2.5 ±0.9km3 water equivalent (w.e.)) reduction in volume between 1981 – 2008/2009, suggesting a long-term state of negative mass balance. Comparison of mean annual specific mass balances (up to -0.34 m w.e. yr-1) with surface mass balance measurements for the nearby Ward Hunt Ice Shelf suggest that basal melt is a key contributor to total ice shelf thinning. The development and expansion of new and existing surface cracks, as well as ice-marginal and epishelf lake development, indicate significant ice shelf weakening. Over the next few decades it is likely that the Milne Ice Shelf will continue to deteriorate.